Garment hanger



March 14, 1933. M L ET AL 1,900,908

GARMENT HANGER Filed Oct. 11, 1930 IN VENTORS 0 Jam? 6 60mph? %40/475/768 fidampbel/ ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 14, 1933 ATE'NET o I-"rca .TOHN"G. CAMPBELL LAWRENCE A. CAMPBELLQOF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI Y GARMENT HANGERi 1:

Application" filed October 1 1, 1930. QSeria1- No. 4187,2985."

This invention relatesto garment hangers.

of the type including a hook and a bow member on which adress or the like maybe arrangedythe principalobjects of theinvention beingto secure a garment mounted on the hanger to prevent the garment from slippingthereon or therefrom, and to latch a garment retainer in operative and retracted positions.

In accomplishing these and other ob ects 6f the invention, we have provided improved details of structure, the preferred form of which is illustrated in the accompanylng drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a garment.

hanger including a retainer embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the hanger. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section on the line 3-3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a section of theenlarged bearing end of the retainer illustrating a facing member attached thereto.

Referring in detail to the drawing: 1 and 2 designate oppositely extending rails or branches preferably diverging froma hook 3, and angular to each other, and 1 designates a cross railconnecting the outer ends of the rails 1 and 2, and-spaced from the hook by reason of the angular relation of the T3118 1 and 2. A I

The rails may have any desired contour to forma bow adapted to conform to the shape of garment portions, such as shoulders, and the cross rail is ordinarily horizontal to form a support for trousers or the like folded thereover. The rails 1 and 2 may further be bent to provide branch portions 5 and 6 meeting in a relatively acute'angle to provide a narrow tapering seat or socket 7 as contrasted with the wide socket formed by rails diverging at an obtuse angle.

The hanger preferably consists of a single wire' having one end formed to comprise the 45 book, a portion 8 connecting the hookto the rails, and an.opposite end 9 Wound around the portion 8 to form the stem of the hanger. This invention pertains particularly to a retainer..10 adapted to be mounted on the hanger, and modifications of the'stem to acbending the tip of the end portion 9 of the hanger wireto form a hook or loop 14, and

commodate the retainer as presently described. Y

The retainer 10 includes preferably a wire or the like having pivotalmounting on the stem, and including .a, lower end 11 bent to provide a relatively large bearing or clamping membermovable into engagement with the horizontal rail for latching to the horizontal rail portions of a garment or garments supported-byone' or more rails.

Since the horizontal rail may bend away from the stem under the weight of a garment supported thereby, the clamping member must be able to overlie the center of the rail at various positions thereof, and also provide a relatively broad extent of bearing surface to avoid indenting the garment pressedagainst the rail by the retainer. The lower end of the retainer is therefore bent into suitable form such as a ring, to provide the desired bearing area, and means is further provided such. as tongues 12 instruck toward the center of the ring to receive and retain a fillervsuch as a piece of cardboard to form. a smooth flat surface engaging the i goods, preventing extension of the goods through the aperture of the ring, and providing an area adapted to receive indicia.

The pivotalmounting of the retainer on the hanger is preferably accomplished by bending, the retainer Wire to form a hook portion-15 engageable in said loop and freely movable therein.

The bent portion of the retainer is formed at the upper' end thereof and includes side arms 16 and 17 extending in substantially parallelrelation: from the 'pivot hook 15 on each side of the stem Wire portion 8 adjacent the hook 3 and arms 18 and 19 bent substantiallyat right angles to the arms 16 and 17 spaced-to form agroove-like recess to receive the stem portion8 when the retainer is pivoted into retractedposition, as shown in Fig. 2. a

Attention is called to the elbow 20 formed in the body-of the :wire comprising a lower end of the-,arm portion-18 and inbendingof the tip 21 of thearm portion 19 to provide a stop at the lower end of the stem-receivloo ing recess. The portions 20 and 21 converge downwardly toward the axis of the body of the retainer and form a tapering seat.

The wire is relatively resilient and when the retainer is retracted the stem portion 8 is engaged in said seat and pressure of the retainer against the stem will cause the resilient tapering portion of the arms 18 and 19 to latch the stem portion 8 in said seat and latch the retainer in horizontal retract-ed position to permit mounting of a garment over the bow beneath the forwardly extending retainer.

Attention is further called to the slight contraction of thechannel between the bent portions of the retainer at the point where the arms 1617 are bent to form the arms 18 and 19, the arms being bent toward each other at this point sufficiently to engage the hook and preferably to engage the portion 8 of the stem, and form a latch whereby the stem extending in the socket may lat-ch the retainer in retracted horizontal position.

The pivot forming end portion of the hanger wire is bent to lie in aplane perpendicular to the plane of the hanger rails and thus form with the stem portion 8 a rela tively extensive guide for the arms 16 and. 17. The wire portions 2 1 and 25 thus form a plate-like centering element having substantially the same thickness as the width of the spacin between the arms 16 and 17 becoming efi ective when the retainer is pivoted downwardly to move the clamping ring into engagement with a garment mounted on the hanger and assure entrance of a latching member presently described, into the seat formed by the bow.

The retainer further includes a latching member 26 comprising in the illustrated structure, a bent portion of the body of the retainer including a branch or finger 27 substantially parallel with the arms 16 and 17 and spaced from said arms a distance slightly less than the distance from the pivot point to the juncture of the diverging rails, whereby the resilient arm 27 may engage in the socket formed by the juncture of the rails and latch the retainer in garment clamping position.

A transverse clamping member is further provided comprising preferably a strip of resilient wire fixed to the body of the retainer and having arms 28 and 29 extending toward the rails 1 and 2 for clamping garment portions to said rails upon downward movement of the retainer.

Means is provided on the outer end of each branch 28 and 29 to effectually latch garment portions to the rail including clips 30 adapted to be bent over the rails and preferably comprise relatively soft tips on the branches which may pass over the garment portions supported by the rails and be bent retractively toward the rails.

A facing member 31 is further preferably mounted on the enlarged lower end of the retainer, comprising a flat thin plate or disk of cardboard or the like, attached to the inner surface of the ring to comprise an exten sive flap-like smooth surface to press against the goods and clamp the garment to the horizontal rail.

In using the invention the retainer is normally latched in retracted horizontal position by reason of the contraction of the channel whereby the hook stem is pinched between the arms of the upper end of the retainer. A dress, coat or the like may be mounted on the diverging rails 1 and 2, the collar extending a sulficient distance below the point of juncture of the rails to permit the latching hook 26 to enter the socket at the juncture of the rails. The retainer may be pivoted downwardly and press against the back of the garment to latch the garment to the horizontal rail and will be retained in latching position by reason of the resilient engagement of the latch 26 in the seat.

The lateral retaining members will incidentally press portions of the garment against the rails 1 and 2 and the clips may then be bent to latch said portions to said rails.

The lower end of the retainer provides an extensive smooth surface to engage the goods, the area of smooth surface being enlarged to the desired extent to accommodate the retainer to a rail depressed by trousers or the like hanging thereon, preferably by reason of the disk attached to the back thereof. The lugs extendin radially into the ring may thus serve as stops for mounting a display disk in the ring to reenforce the backing disk. The disk 31 may bear indicia pertaining to the work, and the added disk may bear advertising, or vice versa.

Trousers or the like may be looped over the horizontal rail and latched thereto by the retainer to prevent slipping of the trousers on the rail.

It is apparent that one or more pairs of trousers may be mounted on the rail and a coat mounted on the rails 1 and 2, the retainer pressing the coat against the trousers and thus latching both trousers and coat to the horizontal rail.

The device has a particular advantage for supporting and latching a garment such as a silk dress. the shoulders of which tend to slide over the downwardly outwardly inclined branches of the ordinary hanger, and are ordinarily retained by pins or like fasteners which tend to damage the dress or form wrinkles therein. The retainer illustrated will engage the back of the dress and yieldingly clamp the same to the horizontal rail with suflicient force to hold the dress against slipping, but will not indent the goods nor press hard enough to make a mark.

The device thus effects latching of a garment to a hanger without involving puncture of the goods by pins or the like, or the use of clamping members or clips that would tend to indent and mar portions of a supported garment. The device is resiliently latched in holdingposition and may easily be displaced for removing a garment from the hanger and is preferably permanently attached to the hanger.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: y 7

1. A garment hanger comprising a stem provided with a hook and having a bent portion, a bow including rails diverging from said hook to form a seat, and a horizontal rail connecting said diverging rails, a retainer comprising a wire having one end pivotally mounted in said bent portion of the stem and an opposite enlarged end engageable with said horizontal rail, and means for resiliently latching the retainer to the bow. 2. In a garment hanger including a stem and garment supporting rails diverging from said stem to form a latch engaging socket therebetween, a garment retainer comprising a bar member having one end pivotally mounted on said stem above said. socket, laterally directed arms carried by the lower end of said bar and having end portions engaging against said rails to clamp against the garment supported thereby, and a latching member on said bar for engaging in said socket to retain the ends of said arms in clamping engagement with the garment.

3. In a garment hanger including a stem, garment supporting rails diverging from said stem to form a latch engaging socket therebetween, and a rail connecting the ends of said diverging rails, a garment retainer comprising a bar member having one end pivotally mounted on said stem above said socket and having a clamping portion on its other end to engage said connecting rail, laterally directed arms carried by said bar and having ends engaging against said diverging rails to cooperate with the clamping portion of the bar to retain a garment supported on the hanger, and a latch member on said bar for engaging in said latch engaging socket to retain the arms and bar in clamping position.

4. In a garment hanger including a stem, garment supporting rails diverging from said stem, and a rail connecting the ends of said diverging rails, a garment retainer comprising a bar member having one end pivotally mounted on said stem and having a clamping portion on its other end to engage said connecting rail, laterally directed arms carried by the bar and having end portions adapted with the clamping portion of the bar to reto latch over said diverging rails to cooperate 7 tain a garment supported on the hanger, and means for retaining the bar and arms in engaging position.

5. In a garment hanger including a stem, garment supporting rails diverging from said stem to form a latch engaging socket therebetween, and a rail connecting the ends of said diverging rails, a garment retainer comprising a bar member having one end pivotally mounted on said stem at a point above said socket and having an enlarged elampin portion on its opposite end for engagin sai connecting rail to clamp a garment t ere against, and a latch on said bar engaging in said socket to retain the bar in clamping position.

6. In a garment hanger including a stem,

garment supporting rails diverging fromsaid stem, and a rail connecting the ends of said diverging rails and spaced from said stem, a garment retainer comprising a bar member extending across the space between the stem and connecting rail in transverse relation to the connecting rail and having one end pivotallymounted on said stem and having a clamping portion on its other end to en gage said connecting rail, laterally directed arms carried by the bar and having end portions engaging said diverging rails to cooperate with the clamping portion of the bar to retain a garment supported on the hanger, and means for retaining the bar and arms in engaging position.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures.

JOHN G. CAMPBELL. LAWRENCE A. CAMPBELL. 

